To meet growing needs, MCHD is expanding both personnel and infrastructure, Executive Director Randy Johnson said.
“Just in the EMS program alone, we have about 350 EMTs and paramedics,” Johnson said. “We’re aggressively hiring. ... We’re also paying for some of our younger EMTs to go to school.”
Johnson said the hospital district’s five-year plan includes adding four more EMS stations around the county.
The specifics
MCHD recently welcomed four new board members following the November 2024 election, three serving their first-ever term and one returning after a two-year hiatus, Johnson said.
The new members are Vice Chairman Bob Bagley in the at-large Position 3 seat; Precinct 2 Commissioner Jackie Williams; Precinct 1 Commissioner Kelly Inman; and Jason Walker in the at-large Position 1 seat. Each of the new members’ terms ends in December 2028.
Johnson said special meetings were held to catch the new members up to speed.
“They want to be careful and good custodians of the taxpayer dollar, but they also want to make sure that we’re providing a very good mission to the county,” Johnson said.
The board members evaluate the budget and make policy for the hospital district to follow, Johnson said.
“They’re responsible for making sure that we’re following policy, and ... setting what is the will of the people ... as far as health care and providing indigent care for the county,” Johnson said.
The overview
As the 911 provider for the county, MCHD works with 12 local fire departments to respond to emergencies and transport patients to hospitals. Its public health division focuses on vaccinations, treating communicable diseases and tracking infections, Johnson said.
“We still take care of our mission of taking care of patients who can’t take care of themselves,” Johnson said. “You can go on our website and see if you’re eligible. ... You can’t have insurance or your income can’t be too high.”
The hospital district also provides sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, and tuberculosis testing and treatment, Johnson said.
“We’re like an octopus,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of arms out there, a lot of reach.”
To enhance public access to care, Johnson said the district has outreach approaches.
“Our health care assistance program is doing presentations ... to better notify people who need care and don’t have the resources,” Johnson said.
A partnership with Lone Star Family Health Center is also in progress to provide health care to more indigent patients around the county, Johnson said.
Looking ahead
Montgomery County’s rapid growth—4.5% to 5% annually—has driven increases in medical demand, Johnson said.
Johnson said the call rate has increased at a rate between 10% and 13% per year for the last five years. The district is expanding the ambulance fleet at a rate of about four trucks per year.
MCHD also plans to add two radio towers to strengthen communications: one in the southeast part of the county over the next four years and another tower near Lake Conroe.
Aging residents are a major driver of medical calls, Johnson said, and MCHD’s main responses include breathing problems, cardiac issues and falls.
“When older people start falling, that’s when they begin a decline,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot different than you see on TV.”
